A Linux User Reminds Himself Why He Stopped Using Windows

Last month, I wrote about my life using Linux for the past ten years. This week, I started using Windows again -- and was reminded why I switched to Linux in the first place. Here's what I learned.

I've been a happy Linux user for a decade. I wiped the Windows partition from my computer long ago and never looked back -- until recently, that is, when I found myself having to boot to Windows in order to work with a PDF file that was only supported by modern versions of Adobe Acrobat. Since Adobe stopped releasing Acrobat for Linux several years ago, and I could not get Acrobat to run reliably via Wine, running Windows was the only solution I could find.

Fortunately, Microsoft now loves Linux so much that it makes Windows 7 and Windows 8 virtual machine images available for free download and use on Linux systems. The images only work for a limited time before you have to register, but for my purposes, they fit the bill. After downloading, I was able to fire up the image in VirtualBox and get to work.

Why I Stopped Using Windows

Once I booted into Windows, however, I was quickly reminded why I switched to Linux so many years ago. Even my virgin Windows 7 virtual machine image did some annoying things. They included:

The Windows taskbar displays only icons. Maybe that works for you. Personally, I prefer seeing Windows XP-style names of programs in the taskbars. It just helps me keep track of what I have open more easily. That's how Ubuntu does it (with GNOME Classic installed).

There's no easy-to-access terminal. OK. This one's not really a problem with Windows as much as a reflection of my personal preference. Most users don't want to work through the terminal. But one of the things I have come to love about Ubuntu is how I can quickly open a terminal and run some quick commands to complete a task that would take much longer when done using the mouse. Want to move all the PDF files in one directory to another one? You can do that in a few keystrokes on the command line. I suppose you could do this in Windows, too, but the Windows CLI is arguably much less user-friendly, and it takes longer to open.

Windows endlessly nags me about registering. The Windows virtual machine image I downloaded is supposed to be a trial for use by developers. If you want to run it permanently, you need to register. I get that. But since first boot the system has nagged me to no end about registering. It pops up boxes all the time telling me to register, or warning that I may be a victim of "software counterfeiting" (which is rich, because, again, I obtained this image perfectly legally from Microsoft's own site). I know that if I actually registered, this annoyance would go away. But I like that on Linux, I never get bothered about registering -- or warned that I need to update my registration and so on. I can spend my time actually doing work instead of clicking boxes telling me to register.

It reboots when it feels like it. This is definitely the most annoying part of my recent Windows experience. The system reboots itself periodically, presumably to install updates. Sometimes a tiny pop-up appears warning me that it's going to reboot, and asking if I want to postpone. If I miss the pop-up, then the system will reboot suddenly while I am in the middle of working. It's a tremendously obnoxious feature. In contrast, Ubuntu usually manages to apply updates without requiring a reboot at all. On the rare occasion that it does want to reboot -- which generally only happens after a kernel update -- it patiently waits until I give it permission. Ubuntu has never rebooted on me while I am in the middle of working.

This list would probably be much longer if I were using my Windows system for something more than just editing a PDF file.

Conclusion

I know: Ubuntu has its problems, too. Nothing's perfect. And for some people, WIndows is just a better fit than Linux.

Still, I admit that I've been happy, in a kind of way, by my frustrations working with Windows. Ever since I switched to Linux, I have always been afraid that Windows will get much better, without my knowledge. Using a recent version of Windows and finding it quite annoying is pleasant affirmation that Linux is still the better option for me.